Child safety seats are well known in the art. The typical child safety seat is designed to rest on the top surface of the seat of a vehicle. The child safety seat is configured for the child to sit on the child safety seat such that the position of the child is raised in the vehicle. Many of these types of child safety seats are booster seats for toddlers. Commonly, booster seats have a seat base and a seat back. The typical booster seat rests on the vehicle seat but the vehicle's safety harness (e.g., seatbelt) is used to secure the seat occupant (e.g., a child) in the booster seat as well as the seat the booster seat sits on. The seat back on some booster seats is removable, converting the seat to a seat base-only booster for larger children. The booster seat not only more closely fits the child's smaller body size, but also elevates the child to aid in properly positioning the child with respect to the seatbelt.
Seatbelts, also known as safety belts, are safety devices designed to secure and restrain vehicle occupants preventing harmful movement during a collision or sudden stop. Seatbelts come in various types, including lap restraints, sash belts, and three-point seatbelts combining the lap belt and the sash belt in to a unitary device. In most modern vehicles the three-point seatbelt is standard. Three-point seatbelts typically consist of a retractable webbing that is removably secured to a buckle on one side of the passenger, and a retractable locking reel or drum on the passenger's other side, either near the passenger's shoulder or at seat level. As standard car seatbelts are configured for adults of various sizes and heights, they are accordingly improperly sized for children. As such, devices to properly position the seatbelt across the child's body are required. In some booster seats this is achieved utilizing elements or features of the booster seat, while other products may utilize additional elements to achieve the proper positioning.
Booster seats are often moved from car to car or used in different vehicles. Booster seats are also often taken on trips where the booster seat is used on an airplane for the child and then used in a rental car during the family's time away. Some conventional booster seats include an exterior shell that is a one-piece structure that includes both the seat back and seat base. These types of booster seats can be fairly cumbersome for transport and travel. In other conventional booster seats, the seat back can be removed from the seat base and the seat back and seat base can be carried and transported separately. However, this can also be rather cumbersome, as the two components, if detached, must be separately managed, carried, stored, and transported apart from one-another. Alternatively, some booster seats have a back that pivots in relation to the seat base, allowing for a more compact folded configuration for transportation. As a child gets older, only the seat base portion of the child safety seat may be needed as a booster seat. The seat base can still be cumbersome to hold and carry, especially while trying to carry other things, such as travel bags, shopping bags, a child, or the like.
Other manufacturers have attempted to address this issue by providing seating surfaces that incorporate loops, hooks, and clips to alter the positioning of the seatbelt with respect to the position of the child's body without requiring the use of a full booster seat. Unfortunately, these can be cumbersome to operate and properly align and provide a limited number of configurations without purchasing multiple safety seats or devices.